Mentalrobics™

You exercise your body to stay physically in shape, so why shouldn't you exercise your brain to stay mentally fit? With these daily exercises you will learn how to flex your mind, improve your creativity and boost your memory. As with any exercise, repetition is necessary for you to see improvement, so pick your favorite exercises from our daily suggestions and repeat them as desired. Try to do some mentalrobics every single day!

If you ask someone why they feel stressed, they may not be able to point to a specific reason. This is because stress often comes from a source that the sufferer may not fully understand. If you have an easily identified source of stress, you are lucky (try to get rid of it). Most people cannot figure out why they feel stressed.

Stress comes in three flavors: physical, emotional, and behavioral. A physical stress might be an injury, an annoying sound or an uncomfortable chair. Emotional stress includes things like fighting with a friend, or the death of a loved one. Behavioral stress might come from alcohol, caffeine, or poor sleep.

Looking at these areas and taking a step back to look at the bigger picture may help someone understand where their stress is coming from. For example, someone who feels tense all the time may not realize that it's because of poor sleep due to noisy neighbors (behavioral and physical stress). A good pair of earplugs may make all the difference in the world! Try examining the various parts of your life to see if you can find something that might be causing stress. Experiment to see if eliminating the stressor makes you feel better.

If you can remember back to your last stressful situation, you may remember that your hands and feet felt cold. This is because your body reduces blood flow to its extremities when it is under stress.

To reverse these symptoms and help yourself feel better, try rubbing your hands together vigorously until you have worked up some good heat. Now, do some simple finger and wrist stretches. Twist your wrists around or interlock your fingers and push your palms away from you to get a good stretch. If you frequently get cold hands, you may want to get some thin gloves to wear. If you cant wear gloves because you need to type, you can easily make some typing gloves by cutting off the fingers. This will keep your hands warm and allow you to type.

Of course, cold hands and feet don't necessarily mean that you are under stress. You may have a circulatory problem such as Raynaud's disease, or you may simply be cold. If in doubt, ask your doctor.

Many people use the words 'anxiety' and 'stress' interchangeably, and although they are related, they do not mean the same thing. Anxiety is a feeling of fear or apprehension about future uncertainties, which may contain unknown dangers. Anxiety can cause sweating, heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath or trembling.

Stress is a larger term that includes anxiety as well as feelings of frustration, anger or nervousness. Stress and anxiety are highly personal things. What makes one person feel stressed or anxious may not make someone else feel the same way.

Anxiety disorders are strong cases that have a serious negative impact on a person's life. Some common anxiety disorders are phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety disorder. For many of these conditions there are drugs or treatments that are effective.

The opposite of a type A personality is type B. These people tend to be more relaxed and calmer than their type A counterparts. Type B people are easy-going, uncompetitive and more realistic about deadlines and goals. They know their limits and rarely push them. Type B people are often called socializers because they enjoy parties and being in groups. Type B people are very easy to get along with because they rarely get irritated or bothered.

As you might expect, type B people have a lower incidence of heart disease and other stress related illnesses.

A person with a type A personality is someone who is very driven and competitive. They are generally more assertive, impatient and always in a hurry. Type A people push themselves to the limits by multitasking and setting difficult goals and deadlines.

This term was originally coined by Dr. Meyer Friedman and Dr. Ray H. Rosenman to describe behaviors that can significantly increase the risk of heart disease and other stress related illnesses.

If you answer yes to a majority of the following questions, then you may be a type A person.

1. Do you get bothered waiting in line at a store or restaurant?
2. Do you think about other things when talking to other people?
3. Do you have a hard time falling asleep?
4. Do you get bothered by the way other people drive?
5. Do people ever tell you to calm down, chill out, or take it easy?
6. Do you grind your teeth?
7. Do you often ask people to get to the point or give you a summary of what they are talking about?
8. Do you enjoy change?

If you want to become more relaxed, you might start by practicing proper breathing. Meditation may also be helpful.